that though. She’s already freaking out as it is.”
Felix puzzled over this for a moment. “Freaking out? About what?”
Lucas looked surprised. “Seriously? You’re from around here aren’t you?”
“Oh,” Felix said, finally getting it. “You mean the forest thing.”
“Of course I mean the forest thing.” Lucas kicked aside a deflated duffel bag, crossed the room and sat down on his bed (just a mattress with no sheets or a pillow). “They just found those two hikers. I heard they were missing limbs and shit. And the guy on the news was saying they haven’t found the dude’s head.” He cringed. “And those three campers—they’re still missing, right? The one’s from like four months ago. And they were in the same forest. Everyone thinks it’s connected. My mom definitely does. What’s that place called? Andley Forest?”
“Ashfield,” Felix corrected, taking a seat on his bed. “It’s not too far from here.” He knew all about the forest thing (everyone in Oregon did), but he’d just been taking it one day at a time. That was the only way he could survive. He felt like he was drowning in a pool of anguish and anxiety and the only way he could get air was to suck it through a straw that seemed to be getting punctured with more holes by the day. His own troubles had been so consuming he really had no idea what was going on in the world. But the murders in Ashfield Forest, the ‘Ashfield Forest Mystery’, the media was calling it, had dominated the headlines, making it impossible for even Felix to ignore.
“You hear anything new?” Lucas asked. “What’s the inside scoop? What are the locals saying?”
“Monsters or aliens,” Felix said dryly. “That’s what the crazies think.”
Lucas laughed nervously. “Maybe the crazies are right. It’s just… messed up. You couldn’t pay me enough to go to that forest. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what happens when you go into the woods. Dude—this is depressing. But I’ve got just the thing.” He pushed himself off the mattress, stepped over to the closet next to his bed, and flung open the doors. Felix stood up to see what he was doing. Lucas bent down, reached inside and scooped up a box in both hands which he held above his head for a moment before shouting: “Beer! The number one doctor recommended cure for depression!” He put the box on his bed and after demolishing one end of it, took out two cans and brought one over to Felix.
Lucas pulled back the tab on his can and held it up to Felix who did the same. “Here’s to an awesome year. Once a Sturgeon—”
“Forever a Sturgeon,” Felix finished, and they clicked their cans together.
Lucas laughed and drank from his can.
Felix took three long swallows and looked around the room. Strangely, even with a roommate, it still felt like a sanctuary. He felt a smile creeping across his face. Then his smile turned into a halting laugh, then finally, he broke into an actual laugh that rivaled Lucas’s. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this. It felt good. It felt really good.
“You know what we’re gonna need?” Lucas said, grinning at Felix like they’d been friends for years.
“A fridge,” Felix answered quickly. The beer tasted several degrees warmer than room temperature, like it had been sitting in a sun-heated car for a good while.
“Damn right,” Lucas agreed. He wiped beer from his chin and belched. “This tastes like piss. Good piss—but still piss.”
“Where’d you get this, anyway?”
“Dude, that was my first priority after I found the dorm. There’s a little convenience store down the road, and the guy at the counter barely looked at my license.”
“Whose license?”
“My brother’s. If anyone asks, I’m twenty-six.” Lucas smiled and drank from his can.
“I almost forgot.” Felix glanced down at his watch. “My friend should be here any minute.”
“Cool. Is he on the football team?”
“She.
Felix puzzled over this for a moment. “Freaking out? About what?”
Lucas looked surprised. “Seriously? You’re from around here aren’t you?”
“Oh,” Felix said, finally getting it. “You mean the forest thing.”
“Of course I mean the forest thing.” Lucas kicked aside a deflated duffel bag, crossed the room and sat down on his bed (just a mattress with no sheets or a pillow). “They just found those two hikers. I heard they were missing limbs and shit. And the guy on the news was saying they haven’t found the dude’s head.” He cringed. “And those three campers—they’re still missing, right? The one’s from like four months ago. And they were in the same forest. Everyone thinks it’s connected. My mom definitely does. What’s that place called? Andley Forest?”
“Ashfield,” Felix corrected, taking a seat on his bed. “It’s not too far from here.” He knew all about the forest thing (everyone in Oregon did), but he’d just been taking it one day at a time. That was the only way he could survive. He felt like he was drowning in a pool of anguish and anxiety and the only way he could get air was to suck it through a straw that seemed to be getting punctured with more holes by the day. His own troubles had been so consuming he really had no idea what was going on in the world. But the murders in Ashfield Forest, the ‘Ashfield Forest Mystery’, the media was calling it, had dominated the headlines, making it impossible for even Felix to ignore.
“You hear anything new?” Lucas asked. “What’s the inside scoop? What are the locals saying?”
“Monsters or aliens,” Felix said dryly. “That’s what the crazies think.”
Lucas laughed nervously. “Maybe the crazies are right. It’s just… messed up. You couldn’t pay me enough to go to that forest. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what happens when you go into the woods. Dude—this is depressing. But I’ve got just the thing.” He pushed himself off the mattress, stepped over to the closet next to his bed, and flung open the doors. Felix stood up to see what he was doing. Lucas bent down, reached inside and scooped up a box in both hands which he held above his head for a moment before shouting: “Beer! The number one doctor recommended cure for depression!” He put the box on his bed and after demolishing one end of it, took out two cans and brought one over to Felix.
Lucas pulled back the tab on his can and held it up to Felix who did the same. “Here’s to an awesome year. Once a Sturgeon—”
“Forever a Sturgeon,” Felix finished, and they clicked their cans together.
Lucas laughed and drank from his can.
Felix took three long swallows and looked around the room. Strangely, even with a roommate, it still felt like a sanctuary. He felt a smile creeping across his face. Then his smile turned into a halting laugh, then finally, he broke into an actual laugh that rivaled Lucas’s. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this. It felt good. It felt really good.
“You know what we’re gonna need?” Lucas said, grinning at Felix like they’d been friends for years.
“A fridge,” Felix answered quickly. The beer tasted several degrees warmer than room temperature, like it had been sitting in a sun-heated car for a good while.
“Damn right,” Lucas agreed. He wiped beer from his chin and belched. “This tastes like piss. Good piss—but still piss.”
“Where’d you get this, anyway?”
“Dude, that was my first priority after I found the dorm. There’s a little convenience store down the road, and the guy at the counter barely looked at my license.”
“Whose license?”
“My brother’s. If anyone asks, I’m twenty-six.” Lucas smiled and drank from his can.
“I almost forgot.” Felix glanced down at his watch. “My friend should be here any minute.”
“Cool. Is he on the football team?”
“She.
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